it just healed that way

there is a man walking so slowly down the side of the road

from a distance it appeared as if he were dancing

yet as i got closer i could see that it was a painful walk

a leg with an obvious bend

so that while he walks, he dips

a break perhaps?

untreated, untended, unpaid for, unaccounted and uncared for

his leg wasn't born misshapen

it just healed that way

this woman standing by me

in the line at the grocery store

stares into space

her eye cloudy and unseeing

her other eye weeping unconscious tears

the scar running down the side of her face

tells a story

and in the end you know

her eye was not born with a veil

it just healed that way

as i rush from the liquor store

my evening's comfort secure in my hand

i turn to avoid a man who is raging against an unseen foe

thrusting his chest out, his eyes blazing

meaning business he is

i do know this,

that his mind was not born confused and disoriented

in his life, for so many reasons, it just healed that way

and as i reflect on my harsh, often acid-laced words

and wonder why

i lash out, retreat, regret, reflect, and react the way i do

i know i can honestly say

my heart was not born, like this

it just healed that way